Sumas River


The Sumas River is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington.

Course

The Sumas River originates in Whatcom County, Washington just north of the Nooksack River and west of Sumas Mountain. It flows generally northeast, crossing the Canada–United States border and emptying into the Fraser River.
Swift Creek, a tributary of the Sumas River, is contaminated with naturally occurring asbestos-laden sediment from the slow-moving Swift Creek Landslide.

History

The Sumas River used to flow into Sumas Lake, a large lake on the Fraser River's floodplain. In the 1920s the lake was drained.